Bedke looks for change of tempo

Sep. 13—Republicans have held the lieutenant governor's office in Idaho for nearly 45 years, but Scott Bedke isn't counting on history to put him in the winner's circle this year.

Bedke, 64, has been campaigning as hard for the position as he did for every other office he's held during his nearly 30 years of elected service. That includes time on the Oakley City Council, as well as 11 terms in the Idaho House of Representatives. He's also a former president of the Idaho Cattle Association and former director of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

He passed through Lewiston on Monday while on his way from Coeur d'Alene to New Meadows, and met with editors at the Lewiston Tribune.

As the longest-serving House speaker in Idaho history, Bedke is arguably the second-most powerful elected official in the state, behind the governor. He has been able to influence everything from tax policy to education and transportation funding.

So why give that up to campaign for a position that's at the opposite end of the political power scale, with a very limited role in setting policy? In part, he said, because he recognizes no one stays on top forever.

"The speakership has a shelf life," Bedke said. "But I still feel like I can contribute. I still have some gas left in the tank, and I've developed a lot of expertise in areas that are going to be critical going forward."

Besides tax policy and education funding, he has broad experience in water and natural resources issues. Water rights in particular is something he's been involved with for decades, helping to negotiate water agreements that effect tens of thousands of acres in southern Idaho.

"That's an area I understand because I've lived it. I can be a fair broker," he said.

Bedke farms and ranches near Oakley, on land his great-grandfather homesteaded in the 1870s. Growing up, he'd leave the house in the morning and not return until dinner time, spending his day hunting, fishing and riding the range.

He admits that experience gives him something of a nostalgic, backward-looking vision of Idaho — one that may lack common ground with some folks who are new to the state. However, he doesn't see that as a handicap going forward.

"The word is out," Bedke said. "People think they can (move here and) have a positive experience in a backdrop called Idaho. I don't want to tell them what kind of experience to have, but when they come, they're going to need infrastructure. They're going to need roads and schools and natural resources. You show me another candidate who has more experience with those issues than I do."

Bedke defeated Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, in the May Republican primary. He faces Democrat Terri Pickens-Manweiler and Constitution Party nominee Pro-Life in the November general election.

If elected, he said he'll bring the same skills to the lieutenant governor's office as he did to the speaker's office: "long-suffering" patience, experience and an appreciation for group dynamics.

"If I had any success as speaker, it was because I employed those skills," Bedke said. "I never told anyone to do something, 'Because I'm speaker and I said so.' "

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.